3rd Trimester
Charley horse or blood clot?
So I stretched my leg out this a.m. while in bed and felt a pain in my calf that made me jump out of bed. I grabbed my calf and felt a tightened knot in my calf. After a minute or so the initial pain subsided and the bump was gone. But all day I have had a dull pain in my calf. If I stretch my leg out and move my ankle around I still feel soreness. I have only had a charley horse once or twice in my life. Is that normal for a charley horse or could it be something more serious like a blood clot? After googleing some stuff I am freaking myself out.
Steph - mama to Owen Patrick 2/20/02, Ryder Jacob 11/3/05 and Brody Ryan 7/14/2011
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Re: Charley horse or blood clot?
charley horse. very common around this time in pregnancy along with sciatic pains in your inner thy.
do not over think it. Dr google can be very harmful. If you think it could be a blood clot mention it to your dr at your next appt.
That sounds like a Charley horse - next time, flex your foot with the heel down, don't point your toe. That can cause the lingering pain! I learned that the hard way
The first time I had one, I screeched and leaped out of the bed and DH thought I was bring attacked by bats or something.
My Mayo Clinic pregnancy book says that blood clots generally come with redness and swelling in the leg where the pain is - you'll have more symptoms and the pain would be much worse. Resist the temptation to turn to Dr Google again - he'll make you crazy! Call your OB if you feel that something is wrong.
Charley horse. I get them like twice a week lately. Oww.
Ditto pp. In this case dr. google is not your friend.
agreed!
I had one last night and it hurts still.
I posted about this same thing earlier. I feel for you. My calves have been sore for a few days following a bad charley horse episode. I was limping too. When I called my doctor's office this morning, the nurse asked me these questions:
Are you having any bleeding? No
Any redness or swelling in calves? No
Any swelling in ankles? No
Baby moving okay? Yes
They told me to increase fluids and prop feet up. I also took several warm baths. They told me I could apply a small amount of a muscle cream like Icy Hot 1-2 times a day if needed, but so far I haven't. After about three days, I've finally gotten a little relief. Hope you feel better!
I think you probably just have a cramp, HOWEVER, I want to respond to some of the responses regarding what clots are like. I developed a DVT in my right calf after the birth of my daughter and no, my leg wasn't swollen, nor was it red, nor was it hot to the touch, and no, the pain wasn't much worse than a charlie horse. In fact, for the first week or two I thought that is what it was and then I thought I had pulled a muscle. I had the clot for over four weeks before it moved up behind my knee and only then did my leg, ankle and foot swell. Looking back, I wish I had done something about it sooner as I suspected it was a clot but kept convincing myself otherwise. Thankfully, it only ever got as far as my knee but had I waited any longer it could have made it to my lungs.
Always better to be safe than sorry.
Kelly, Mom to Christopher Shannon 9.27.06, Catherine Quinn 2.24.09, Trey Barton lost on 12.28.09, Therese Barton lost on 6.10.10, Joseph Sullivan 7.23.11, and our latest, Victoria Maren 11.15.12
Secondary infertility success with IVF, then two losses, one at 14 weeks and one at 10 weeks, then success with IUI and then just pure, crazy luck. Expecting our fifth in May as the result of a FET.
This Cluttered Life